Samuel Bert Boadi-Kusi

Optometric education in Africa: historical perspectives and challenges.

&NA; The African continent, with a population of more than one billion and 55 recognized developing countries, is still grappling in some countries with socioeconomic and other challenges inherent in developing countries. The continent is working toward a single political entity known as the African Union, and development is taking place faster than ever in most countries. The continent is known to have high levels of health problems, including visual impairment and blindness. Most nations in the continent are making efforts to reduce the scourge of health problems including visual impairment and blindness. Visual impairment in the continent is mostly caused by refractive errors. Consequently, optometry can help reduce the prevalence of visual impairment on the continent. The educational programs currently offered by the different institutions include Diploma in Optometry (DipOptom), Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom), and Doctor of Optometry (OD). There are 17 established institutions offering optometry degree programs on the continent, of which 14 are fully accredited. Considering the optometric manpower needed in the continent, more optometry institutions need to be established. Staffing and infrastructural and training facilities are major challenges facing the majority of the existing institutions. There is also a need to place greater emphasis on postgraduate education to meet the institutional, national, and international professional training standards and to ensure sustainability of optometry education. This article addresses the historical development, educational issues, challenges, and needs, as well as recommendations, for improving the standard and sustainability of optometric education.

Self-refraction accuracy with adjustable spectacles among children in Ghana.

Purpose To determine the accuracy of self-refraction (SR) in myopic teenagers, we compared visual and refractive outcomes of self-refracting spectacles (FocusSpecs) with those obtained using cycloplegic subjective refraction (CSR) as a gold standard. Methods A total of 203 eligible schoolchildren (mean [±SD] age, 13.8 [±1.0] years; 59.1% were female) completed an examination consisting of SR with FocusSpecs adjustable spectacles, visual acuity with the logMAR (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) chart, cycloplegic retinoscopy, and CSR. Examiners were masked to the SR findings. Wilcoxon signed rank test and paired Student t test were used to compare measures across refraction methods (95% confidence intervals [CIs]). Results The mean (±SD) spherical equivalent refractive error measured by CSR and SR was −1.22 (±0.49) diopters (D) and −1.66 (±0.73) D, respectively, a statistically significant difference of −0.44 D (p < 0.001, t = 15.517). The greatest proportion of participants was correctable to visual acuity greater than or equal to 6/7.5 (logMAR 0.1) in the better eye by CSR (99.0%; 95% CI, 96.5 to 99.7%), followed by cycloplegic retinoscopy (94.1%; 95% CI, 90.0 to 96.6%) and SR (85.2%; 95% CI, 79.7 to 89.5%). These proportions differed significantly from each other (p < 0.001, Wilcoxon signed rank test). Myopic inaccuracy of greater than 0.50 D and greater than or equal to −1.00 D was present in 29 (15.3%) and 16 (8.4%) right eyes, respectively, with SR. In logistic regression models, failure to achieve visual acuity greater than or equal to 6/7.5 in right eyes with SR was significantly associated with age (odds ratio, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.12 to 3.28; p = 0.017) and spherical power (odds ratio, 0.017; 95% CI, 0.005 to 0.056; p < 0.001). Conclusions Self-refraction offers acceptable visual and refractive results for young people in a rural setting in Ghana, although myopic inaccuracy in the more negative direction occurred in some children.

Cost of the medical management and prescription pattern for primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in Ghana-a retrospective cross-sectional study from three referral facilities.

BackgroundGlaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally, and treatment involves considerable cost to stakeholders in healthcare. However, there is infrequent availability of cost information and patterns of management, especially in developing countries. This study determined the cost of the medical management of POAG, adherence, and pattern of medication prescription in Ghana.MethodsA retrospective cross-sectional study involving 891 Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) cases seen in the year 2012 at three referral facilities. Demographics, ocular history, resource consumption, medication, test, surgery and other related cost were extracted from 84 patients who had fully complied with their treatment to calculate total cost (TC) based on 2012 estimates. Glaucoma drugs prescribed to patients who had adhered to all their review visits within the period evident from case folders were recorded and analysed for the prescription pattern.ResultsOut of 891 POAG cases seen in 2012, 351(39.4 %) attended all the required review visits, but only 84 (9.4) had fully and continually adhered to all their treatment regimes. They comprised 41(48.8 %) males and 43(51.2 %) females with a mean age of 65 ± 14.8. Majority of the respondents were elderly above 60 year of age (65.5 %). The total estimated cost for the 84 cases in the year was GH¢ 81,237 (

A cross‐sectional survey of optometrists and optometric practices in Ghana

40,619), comprising GH¢ 72,193 (

Awareness, knowledge and self‐care practices toward glaucoma among final year health science university students in Ghana

36,097) direct medication cost and GH¢9,045 (

Utilization of Eye Care Services among Ghanaian Elderly Population: Evidence from a Peri-Urban Community

4,523) direct non-medication cost (surgery and test cost), and an average of GH¢ 967 (

Ocular Health of the Emerging Elderly Population in Ghana: Evidence From a Peri-urban Community

484) for a mean visit of 5.6 ± 1.1 in the year. A total of 673 glaucoma medications had been prescribed for 351 patients for the year, with timolol being the most prescribed (64.19 %) and monotherapy as the most adopted form of therapy (61.06 %). Age and income showed concurrent increase with cost (P ≤ 0.05).ConclusionsCost of managing glaucoma constitutes a substantial financial burden and influenced the pattern of medication prescription.

Epidemiology of Ocular Toxoplasmosis in Three Community Surveys in the Central Region of Ghana, West Africa

The study was conducted to profile optometrists and optometric practices in Ghana.

Retinal Microvasculopathy Is Common in HIV/AIDS Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana

Background In the absence of adequate services, patients have to rely on the few health professionals that they do come into contact with to advise them on their treatment options. The aim of this study was to determine the level of awareness and knowledge of glaucoma, and the association between these factors and self-care practices among final year health science university students in Ghana. Method A cross-sectional survey involving the use of a structured questionnaire was conducted among 273 final year students (67 per cent) studying at any one of eight health science programs in three selected public universities in Ghana. Results All 273 respondents were aware of glaucoma but only 37.7 per cent had knowledge of it. The majority (65.9 per cent) defined glaucoma as raised intraocular pressure, and confused glaucoma with ocular hypertension. Over half (56.8 per cent) had acquired their knowledge of glaucoma during the course of their training. The media also played a major role in glaucoma awareness; however, it played a limited role in impacting on the knowledge of glaucoma. Only 28.6 per cent of respondents had previously undergone glaucoma screening. Conclusion Although all respondents were aware of glaucoma, their level of knowledge of glaucoma was low. Self-care practices were also generally poor among the respondents. This information may be useful for glaucoma health education in Ghana.In the absence of adequate services, patients have to rely on the few health professionals that they do come into contact with to advise them on their treatment options. The aim of this study was to determine the level of awareness and knowledge of glaucoma, and the association between these factors and self‐care practices among final year health science university students in Ghana.

Factors influencing the decision of GHANAIAN optometry students to practice in rural areas after graduation

Introduction:Despite being more affected by visual impairment and blindness than any other population age group, the elderly are least likely to seek help when faced with eye problems. Eye care utilization among the aged is influenced by a number of predisposing, enabling and need factors. Aim: To assess theeye care needs and utilization of eye care services among Ghanaian elderly population. Methods: A cross sectional s urveyof 170 elderly persons (52.0% of those eligible) aged 60+ years in a peri -urban community in the Central Region of Ghana was conducted. They were purposively sampled and interviewed using a semi -structured questionnaire to collect information regardi ng demographics, eye care use, barriers and eye care seeking